Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the level of resource required to a) repair and b) maintain essential river assets, including weirs and sluice gates, on the River Thames.

The 195 sets of weirs and sluices that exist along the 217km of non-tidal Thames are owned and operated by the Environment Agency (EA) and are regularly inspected to assess their condition, operational effectiveness, and safety. Critical parts of the weirs and sluices are replaced throughout their lifetime as part of the EA’s maintenance programme, to ensure they continue to provide effective water level management. Future investment need is considered as part of each Spending Review. Navigation locks have a similar inspection and maintenance regime, and their wider investment need also forms part of the Spending Review process.